Lost/Forgotten Album #314

[Jon]

For the 43rd album in the series I thought up all by myself, it's NOW time for Extreme's 1995 release, Waiting For The Punchline.

This comes at a better time than last week's almost collusion. Considering that Mr. McFly (not his real name) claimed that Extreme only put out three albums and then tried to correct that statement but in a rather weak kind of way. See, this is Extreme's FOURTH album. Yeah, we didn't "understand" what he posted. 

This also will make those of my tens of followers who complained about the non-English singing on last week's post happier. This week we're back to English so yay for them. 

Waiting For The Punchline is the followup to III Sides To Every Story which reached #10 on the US charts and was certified gold. That album was the followup to Pornograffitti which also reached #10 on the US charts but was certified 2x platinum.

WFTP reached #40 on the US charts and sold over 100,000 copies so it didn't/hasn't received any certification plus it sold quite a few less than Extreme's debut. However, it was a top ten album in both Japan and England.

Compared to their first two albums and a majority of the third, this takes a few listens to sink in. This is much less polished than their previous recordings which came as a bit of a shock to a lot of people, me included. There's no song on here that screams "SINGLE" either.

I remember watching a tv show where they reviewed albums and they seemed a bit confused by this. It sounded like Extreme, but it didn't. Most other reviews gave this middling reviews and, of course, allmusic.com will show up below with their middling review. 

I like this much more than when I first heard it way back then. It's still rough but there's quite a bit of that snazzy geetar which is to be expected.

I could go on with what happened after this album, but we already know (or should). Just think about that Van Halen album you haven't listened to in a long, long time. Hey, kinda makes you want to listen to it today, doesn't it?

Extreme's third album was lost in the thunder of grunge, selling far below expectations. The group fought back with Waiting for the Punchline, blasting out at the new wave of hard rockers by saying they'll be "Hip Today" and, presumably, gone tomorrow. Such proclamations would carry greater weight if they were supported by music that didn't replicate the soft melodic crunch of '80s pop-metal. Nuno Bettencourt remains a stunningly accomplished guitarist, but as a composer he's stuck in an increasingly restrictive formula.

Wait a sec....."soft melodic crunch of '80s pop-metal"? What was the reviewer listening to?

Waiting For The Punchline

1.There is No God
2. Cynical
3.Tell Me Something I Don't Know
4. Hip Today
5. Naked
6. Midnight Express
7. Leave Me Alone
8. No Respect
9. Evilangelist
10. Shadow Boxing
11. Unconditionally

Availability: Tons are available for less than $5. TONS.

[RJhog (Admin)]

I think "tens of followers " is a bit generous...

[Jon]

Are you accusing me of fudging numbers?

[Scott]

[Scott]

I will say two things upfront …

1. I know that Extreme has released more than 3 albums contrary to some rather unfortunate interpretations that took place in another thread recently
2. This band knows how to produce an album! The sound is fantastic!

The song writing and execution are a different story…

• The bass lines are stellar
• The drums, crisp and clear
• The Guitar is top notch all the way around
• The funk undertones really work

So what’s wrong?

Cherone screams too much IMO, but when he sings he’s good
The Songwriting isn’t 100% there. There’s a lot of repetition in the songs and that sounds intentional but it’s still noticeable enough to be an issue – Tell Me Something I Don’t Know is a perfect example. The first two tracks really set a good mood and while aforementioned repetitive track is still good, its Hip Today where I start to get lost. Its giving me VHIII flashbacks.

Naked kinda sorta pulls me back in not because the tune is good, but the bluesy guitar is. Love the tone of it on this one. Acoustic work rivals that of one Rik Emmett, love that …

Leave Me Alone, I’m guessing there’s some Zeppelin influence on this? I didn’t get this one. No Respect sounds like it could fit on one of their first two albums easily love the frantic pace of the bass line and the guitar effects. Chorus could use some work, but were back on the upswing until Evangelist knocks me back down. Probably my least liked song on here.

Shadow Boxing is better but coming off the worst track it’s gotta be something better.

Now here at the end, Unconditionally, may be my favorite, its got a weird almost proggy feel to it and I got excited for an 11+ minute ride, but… its seems the other half of the time is a hidden track and my hopes were again dashed, just like the odds of this becoming a purchase…

Fine post Jon!!

[RJhog (Admin)]

Wrote a bunch of crap, internet went down, had to restart my computer, lost a bunch of crap that I had just written.

Long story short, I like this, but the first half is much better than the second half.  Leave Me Alone kills any momentum built up by the first six tracks.  From there on it just falls flat, except maybe the last two tracks.  Shadow Boxing has a Stones feel, whole Unconditionally has a Led Zeppelin feel, and those songs are pretty good.  

The guitars, drums and bass are superb.  

I bought this a while back at the used CD store, so I dug it out and took it to work with me so I could listen to it while driving today.  It's the first time I've listened to it.  Anyway, this is not great, but it's pretty good.